Pop-in textures

Zieros · 09-14-2009, 02:06 PM

Hey guys, I have a question regarding "pop-in" textures. I did some research and even posted in some other forums as to what may cause this to happen, but i haven't gotten a real answer yet. The only game i have where this happens is in Aion. I have been playing the closed/open betas and cannot for the life of me figure out why this happens. I only got one response regarding this issue and they said it was my hard drive being too slow.

Here's some videos i took to help you understand what i mean by "pop-in textures"

YouTube - login
YouTube - slection

Also while i have your attention, in the same game, i get really good fps when there's not alot of people on the screen(80-120fps) but the second i hit a town it drops significantly(down to 25-35) and gets very very choppy. Some people said this could be a RAM related problem because they said i don't have enough, but when i check out the usage of it, I'm not even close to using it all.

Anyways here's my specs hope you guys can help me out

OS: Windows XP Pro
Resolution: 1920 X 1080
CPU: Q6600 @3.0
GPU: Radeon HD 4870 1gig
RAM: 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1200(PC2 9600) Dual Channel
HD:Seagate 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s

Zieros · 09-15-2009, 02:49 PM

No one can help?

**wmorri** · 09-15-2009, 06:46 PM

Hi,

Welcome to TSF!!

Can you tell us what you are using for a PSU? I see that you are using a Radeon 4870? That need a lot of power on its own.

Cheers!

Zieros · 09-15-2009, 07:28 PM

Heyyy, thanks for a response, I'm using an Antec BP550 Plus 550W.

Mcninjaguy · 09-15-2009, 07:30 PM

I am wondering what PSU you have too?

**wmorri** · 09-15-2009, 09:24 PM

Hi,

Thanks for that. From what I have read and learned this evening it would seem that your graphics card would need that much power on its own for it to run well. I would recommend something along the lines of Corsair 650w. This will give you plenty of power for your GPU.

If you have any other recommendations mcninjaguy just throw them in as I am still learning about gaming.

Cheers!

Tiber Septim · 09-15-2009, 09:25 PM

Power supply is too weak, need a quality 650W minimum. Antec aren't a reliable brand since they stopped using Seasonic.
For example, your PSU lists three +12v rails. +12V1@22A,+12V2@22A,
+12V3@25A. That equates to about 828W, not bad for a 550W unit...
These rails are likely current limited, so your system isn't getting the amps it needs.

Also, the pop in you are experiencing seems more like the system is being sluggish to load all the game assets. How much space do you have left on your HD? How big is your page file set?
Do you have any other applications running in the background?
What temperatures is your CPU, GPU and HDD running at (both when the system is idle and under load)?

You can use the SIW application in my signature to find all of this out.

Zieros · 09-15-2009, 09:46 PM

I have 20 gigs left on my HD
Page file is set to 3 gigs
Only other application running is AIM and sometimes firefox
CPU temps 42c idle / 56c-58c full load
GPU temps 51c idle / 65c-68c full load
HD temp 36c idle / 38c full load

Mcninjaguy · 09-15-2009, 10:15 PM

Your temps seem fine except for the the hardd rives which should not be runig higher than 40C and are pretty close to that.

I did not see the PSU but I would second Tiber's and wmorri's decision.

ebackhus · 09-15-2009, 10:15 PM

Have you defragmented lately? Generally texture/model popping is caused by slow access times either on a disc or an HDD.

Mcninjaguy · 09-15-2009, 10:21 PM

Here's a good defrag program

Auslogics disk defrag (free!)

Zieros · 09-15-2009, 10:26 PM

Hey guys thanks for the quick responses by the way,

But as for defraging, i just did it 2 days ago to see if that was the problem but to no avail.

I never really thought the power supply could be at fault for this, Aion is the only game where this happens. Every other game i play works flawlessly on max settings etc. For example, I can play Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead completely maxed out settings including AA and AF.

Like i stated earlier, i had posted a similar thread on the Aion forums and people told me that my HD was out dated and that it was the cause of the problem. What's your guys thought on that?

Zieros · 09-17-2009, 06:35 PM

hey guys i got to thinking about your power supply recommendation, so i went and searched for power supply calculators, and i never went past a 500w usage. I also did this on several other calculators, not just one. Now I'm not exactly sure how accurate these are but it just seems like the power supply i have now is sufficient based on these tests.

Also I upgraded my hard drive based on the suggestions of some other people i know (i was also due for an upgrade here and if i kept up the current rate, i would fill my hard drive in no time). I upgraded to a WD Caviar Black 500gb 7200 rpm sata drive. It seemed to have reduced the texture load times in my original post by about 50, but its still noticeable.

Mcninjaguy · 09-17-2009, 10:40 PM

When you used the PSU calculator did you add 40% to capacitor aging and 20% to inefficiency?

Zieros · 09-19-2009, 12:18 PM

hey sorry it took so long to respond, but yes i did account for all that.

Mcninjaguy · 09-19-2009, 09:25 PM

Also one more thing I totally forgot is to add 50 to 30% for safety when you use a PSU calculator. If it gives you 549 watts you should be either having 713watts or for 50% safety margin you would be having 823watts as you final answer to the size of the PSU you need. 549watts is the answer I get for my system using this PSU calculator.

Thermaltake PSU calculator

I would recommend you going with a Corsair 750w.

The PSU calculators just recommend the absolute minimum you need.

Tiber Septim · 09-19-2009, 09:39 PM

Believe it or not I don't think this issue is on your end.
Search Youtube for 'Aion Login Screen'. Every other video I have watched has the exact same problem as you are having.
Either Aion's servers just aren't up to the task or the game was designed to slowly 'fade in' the game's assets.

ebackhus · 09-19-2009, 11:49 PM

A slow fade-in does reduce loading times. This was used heavily in the game Halo 2 on the XBox. It allowed the game to go seamlessly from one scene to another.

I think this is called texture streaming...

Zieros · 09-20-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiber Septim

Believe it or not I don't think this issue is on your end.
Search Youtube for 'Aion Login Screen'. Every other video I have watched has the exact same problem as you are having.
Either Aion's servers just aren't up to the task or the game was designed to slowly 'fade in' the game's assets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebackhus

A slow fade-in does reduce loading times. This was used heavily in the game Halo 2 on the XBox. It allowed the game to go seamlessly from one scene to another.

I think this is called texture streaming...

Wow i feel like an idiot. I don't know why i didn't search youtube in the first place. You guys are completely right. Sorry i made a big deal over nothing. And thank you very very much for your responses, you were very helpful

09-14-2009, 02:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Pop-in textures Hey guys, I have a question regarding "pop-in" textures. I did some research and even posted in some other forums as to what may cause this to happen, but i haven't gotten a real answer yet. The only game i have where this happens is in Aion. I have been playing the closed/open betas and cannot for the life of me figure out why this happens. I only got one response regarding this issue and they said it was my hard drive being too slow. Here's some videos i took to help you understand what i mean by "pop-in textures" YouTube - login YouTube - slection Also while i have your attention, in the same game, i get really good fps when there's not alot of people on the screen(80-120fps) but the second i hit a town it drops significantly(down to 25-35) and gets very very choppy. Some people said this could be a RAM related problem because they said i don't have enough, but when i check out the usage of it, I'm not even close to using it all. Anyways here's my specs hope you guys can help me out OS: Windows XP Pro Resolution: 1920 X 1080 CPU: Q6600 @3.0 GPU: Radeon HD 4870 1gig RAM: 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1200(PC2 9600) Dual Channel HD:Seagate 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s

09-15-2009, 02:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Pop-in textures No one can help?

09-15-2009, 06:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,850 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: Pop-in textures Hi, Welcome to TSF!! Can you tell us what you are using for a PSU? I see that you are using a Radeon 4870? That need a lot of power on its own. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever!

09-15-2009, 07:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Pop-in textures Heyyy, thanks for a response, I'm using an Antec BP550 Plus 550W.

09-15-2009, 07:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Pop-in textures I am wondering what PSU you have too?

09-15-2009, 09:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,850 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: Pop-in textures Hi, Thanks for that. From what I have read and learned this evening it would seem that your graphics card would need that much power on its own for it to run well. I would recommend something along the lines of Corsair 650w. This will give you plenty of power for your GPU. If you have any other recommendations mcninjaguy just throw them in as I am still learning about gaming. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever!

09-15-2009, 09:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,877 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Re: Pop-in textures Power supply is too weak, need a quality 650W minimum. Antec aren't a reliable brand since they stopped using Seasonic. For example, your PSU lists three +12v rails. +12V1@22A,+12V2@22A, +12V3@25A. That equates to about 828W, not bad for a 550W unit... These rails are likely current limited, so your system isn't getting the amps it needs. Also, the pop in you are experiencing seems more like the system is being sluggish to load all the game assets. How much space do you have left on your HD? How big is your page file set? Do you have any other applications running in the background? What temperatures is your CPU, GPU and HDD running at (both when the system is idle and under load)? You can use the SIW application in my signature to find all of this out. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.

09-15-2009, 09:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Pop-in textures I have 20 gigs left on my HD Page file is set to 3 gigs Only other application running is AIM and sometimes firefox CPU temps 42c idle / 56c-58c full load GPU temps 51c idle / 65c-68c full load HD temp 36c idle / 38c full load

09-15-2009, 10:15 PM	#9 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Pop-in textures Your temps seem fine except for the the hardd rives which should not be runig higher than 40C and are pretty close to that. I did not see the PSU but I would second Tiber's and wmorri's decision.

09-15-2009, 10:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,341 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Pop-in textures Have you defragmented lately? Generally texture/model popping is caused by slow access times either on a disc or an HDD. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

09-15-2009, 10:21 PM	#11 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Pop-in textures Here's a good defrag program Auslogics disk defrag (free!)

09-15-2009, 10:26 PM	#12 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Pop-in textures Hey guys thanks for the quick responses by the way, But as for defraging, i just did it 2 days ago to see if that was the problem but to no avail. I never really thought the power supply could be at fault for this, Aion is the only game where this happens. Every other game i play works flawlessly on max settings etc. For example, I can play Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead completely maxed out settings including AA and AF. Like i stated earlier, i had posted a similar thread on the Aion forums and people told me that my HD was out dated and that it was the cause of the problem. What's your guys thought on that?

09-17-2009, 06:35 PM	#13 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Pop-in textures hey guys i got to thinking about your power supply recommendation, so i went and searched for power supply calculators, and i never went past a 500w usage. I also did this on several other calculators, not just one. Now I'm not exactly sure how accurate these are but it just seems like the power supply i have now is sufficient based on these tests. Also I upgraded my hard drive based on the suggestions of some other people i know (i was also due for an upgrade here and if i kept up the current rate, i would fill my hard drive in no time). I upgraded to a WD Caviar Black 500gb 7200 rpm sata drive. It seemed to have reduced the texture load times in my original post by about 50, but its still noticeable.

09-17-2009, 10:40 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Pop-in textures When you used the PSU calculator did you add 40% to capacitor aging and 20% to inefficiency?

09-19-2009, 12:18 PM	#15 (permalink)
Zieros Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Pop-in textures hey sorry it took so long to respond, but yes i did account for all that.

09-19-2009, 09:25 PM	#16 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Pop-in textures Also one more thing I totally forgot is to add 50 to 30% for safety when you use a PSU calculator. If it gives you 549 watts you should be either having 713watts or for 50% safety margin you would be having 823watts as you final answer to the size of the PSU you need. 549watts is the answer I get for my system using this PSU calculator. Thermaltake PSU calculator I would recommend you going with a Corsair 750w. The PSU calculators just recommend the absolute minimum you need.

09-19-2009, 09:39 PM	#17 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,877 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Re: Pop-in textures Believe it or not I don't think this issue is on your end. Search Youtube for 'Aion Login Screen'. Every other video I have watched has the exact same problem as you are having. Either Aion's servers just aren't up to the task or the game was designed to slowly 'fade in' the game's assets. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.

09-19-2009, 11:49 PM	#18 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,341 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Pop-in textures A slow fade-in does reduce loading times. This was used heavily in the game Halo 2 on the XBox. It allowed the game to go seamlessly from one scene to another. I think this is called texture streaming... __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.